Game device



M. M. MARCUS GAME DEVICE Aug. 3, 1943.

Filed April 11, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 f INVEN'rOR:

MEYER M MARcua ATTORNEY lcated by the character'EE; Thejgame 2e has a.locl: orrelease pin 26 which releases either one orrmoreofthe'projectiles Orballs ZZ ior playing 7 and under the circumstancesand conditions hereinafter mentioned. 7 a a l The timer referred towandbroadly indicated by the character 30, consists of an electrically openated clock or'meter 3| having a dial '32 which "CS'1y tresembles thedial of. an ordinary clock, [that is; it calibrated an'd markedbfffintotiine I periods or cycles. f-Thefillhstratiori of Figured T shows, forexample,- a" meter "or clock dial 3 marked off insix periodsof tenminutes each 4 'Thereis only one hand or; pointer 33 on. the timer whichmoves rather rapidly in a clockwise direction to indicate thearhountbflplay time purchased by the player, but jwhich' hand 33 Engage;

the wheel 31 which is nxeditethe drive shaft 38;

'rhe gear segment ashes teeth as thereon which I engage the teeth 45."The segment 36 covers only a a sixty degree portion of its; peripheralsurface so that While the tw wheels tr nds: havethe' 7 same diameter thewheel 3 1 will revolve one si ith of a revolution: to the oneirevolutionof the 'wheel 31. The degree o fi' are of the-segment 35 corre-' 72,325,693 g V y H end of'the game in an upright position asshow'n,

or it may be mountedon the side andfiat'if more convenient. At any rate,it should be wellilluminatedso that the time periods purchased and I theminutes remaining left to play. arejalwayse 'visibletotheplayer. e i

The coin handling mechanism-it :has first of ja1l a coin-deposit'box Hwhich is mounted on I the game 2l 'at a place convenient and easy for I"moves back encounter-clockwise more slowly andatv a. normal rate ofspeed to indicate the number of minutes left to play. j a e I V VThe'electricfclockortimer 3iI-is also'provided" with anaggre'gatingorallocating devicewhich istermed and referred to-herein as a collocating'mechanism a'nd which consecutive y. Inovesthe pointer'or indicator 33clockwise in 1 prop'orti'ori' 't'o i or'in anumber of degreescommensurate with'the [number of coins insertedin'the device at the'coin51017 13. 1 Thefc'ollocating mechanismis composed 'o'ffli gear 134 whichis rigidly-"mounted 'on the meter or driven shaft-35'." The gear wheel34 has a ninnber of teeth 45'evenly and regularly-spaced? around itsentire peripheral surface;

able with the'gear 34 iska' gear segment sii o-ne sponds'to 'the'degreeyof movement of the pointer .33 caused by the deposit and a'ctionof one: coin onl'ymThe gearsfld and 31 together with their related partsand apparatusis-reierred to herein t as-jan eleetrically operatedecc'entric gear device.

The timer 30 isal'so provided with-armagnetio theplayer to-reach.Thefbox may. beiprovided with a slu'gf 'eject r so esgit discard counter7 feit coins. The ejector is not shown in the drawv,ing's because itisgenerally, anaccessory, and

ejectors suitable for the purpose are. well tothe art and available onthe market. After a coin r'l'glisdeposited in'the slot le, it eventuallyfinds its'wayintothe coin chute M andcontinues v t dropthroughi thechute until its passage'is restricted by the two metal fingers liand 16or 3 blocked by another coin. The chute Hig'lined with a l'ay'erof hardrubber I9 or. some other suit able insulation or dielectric material.--

Asfsoonfasthe hem-12 strikesthe two'fingers 15 Y and-'16,an electriccifcuit is closed which sets into-motion the tlm el' aridllnlocks :thegame playing means 26'50 thatthe eballfii may be prO- jected thereby;The details of the electric" circultsperforming-andcontrolling theseoperations ger Hi ls movable and-at; certain predetermined mome'nts'itis drawn outward and it thereby will be' described in ole-tailhereinafter.

permits the coin 72 'todro'p into a'l'ower chamber l8 'irom where itpasssinto a "suitable box or a bank which; howevenfis not-shown in thedraw ings; Simultaneously: with the withdrawal'move i the drawingsby'the character 12a. As longas 'a coin 12 contacts-both the'fingersIt-and l6, an'

e electricicircuit, "also referred to herein. asa pri or solenoidoperated brake which serves to more accurately contiol the pointer 33-so'thatit does I "not jump or permitthe 'gam'e' to be playediex ceptwhe'riitime has beeirproperly purchased. In

other end secured to the solenoid piston 43. :v'The draws the piston 01coret'43 away fro'rnlthe drum 39am tightens the band 40; This'shops'theclock and preventsthe indicator 33 from moving on themeter' dial 32 asaforesaid; The clock ima'ryr electric circuit,jcauses a small electric Iemotor. to operate. The aforesaid elements J2, I5

and 'lfiiconstitutee a simple momentary electric switch. o e I COil'l12a: Atthis point Chute 1 1 is j st Wide'enoughand deep enough" toconstructionis-v 'such that when the solenoid 42 is energized, thefbrakeband 42 :is loosened'an'd;

t the drum iiflis' allowed to rotateireely'; When 7 I the solenoid 42-istnotenergized, the spring 44 (iii inechanism fi 'may be a conventionalelectrically in combining the'timer so with theme device 20, thetimer-may be'mounte'd at-t he' 'rearpermit thesmoothpassage,therethrough oft a singlecoin orseveralfcoins edge te edgeand: in line.- The chute '54, has-acrossits width: two ialigned-channels, one of which "securely vreceives V thefixedfingerJEanddthe other channel slidably receives the :movable"finger l6. These shownin 'theFigure-8.

The solenoid' W3 is mounted on-the case to theside'oiv thechanneltisofthatthe core [03a is in linetherewith. The-outer end of' the corenew has a collar illilb 'integral therewith and a coil; spiin'g liii:ther on. The spring '59! is of the con pres'siontypefand tends tofur'gethe'core liliia'toward the chute 'id The finger I6 is connected or,linked t the ere 19 3a by means of the dieiectnevhleck'108; a

known.

.it;may be well-to describe-the construction of the coin-handling means;parlltioularly thepart shown in the enlargedyiews of Figures 8 andQandwhichpartis referred tohere'inas the initial handling means iThecoink we ,Qcertain auxil ary e mlie; ircui l h t Mamie."

l w rxafltqne d wh h; W/them 911 89 flexi l as en I sert e 091 03mm thecmflfi t d oinwh hi n el he u bei rm, ,the right arm I 43 7 in thedrawihg of Figulqe m w or s dable p mam; h isl m ,f 'he ef a m 40ith ler fi amswq wl e l spying leaves lfifl apd 150 which areeel proy ide d23nd '1 thettop air of conzact membersfiaiatid therehetw een with,contaptf pqints for qlipg ahn. autqlitatic switch 92 which; makes orbreaks gen! 10; hingedly; connected toiphe leco re .QIMa' by closing ofthe-switch Bz when a coin fl' lt is i .The 10wer part pi e the eoin thandling mecha;v itm. the partflhereoff including the chamber "Unis:refened to h erein as the final handling j means. This portionhas asolenqid 1M c nn c ed" nma el wi h the .9 1 15 an t ef re. O era es 1 mlwnewlx .th ei The endpf mm a sql CQntIOISMBhB" .tirneras. we l as gthenameiilockuifij-yflf eimobqm nda elat d;mechar tindi e ed bsn t qmmqtenB0 an mm, .mres ferredWo operaw. th ou h a 3 tabl speedjreductiqnpde A.not" how dmth ,,rawin2=as i msk ari y e1 on differentlal W r' centactwheels 1 e e the: secondary etelthe timingflevice ighqpplack 9'"pollocat ingetndecha H heretbfo; r 'de rib d-r The contactwheei 81 1s""shbv Vn "detail ihlthe V 7' secured i ,Two "frictiqnbohtaqts 83, havingI leag breaks thepririiaxybirduit when the Contact 83.

The ebntact member 85' (in the wheel 1theq1nhandlingmechanism,referieito asizhe V initial; handlin'gfnieans, andlather-pair ofsj'cbn} tact members: em and 9lb are. tc'onnetefi withanother; part 56f. the [coin handling mechanism predetermined 1 CertainIla-101113 filiefddihjhendling ice V $1; orde 0 prev fyom, beecm vhichlexcess, depdeitl e indic ator hand 33 fol {110132. than one, Ievpliu 35,Instead, there is .interpos s when; tat-gather are 81 tor miner circuita sblfi held hereip? he cond ctblf's in some instances,

the chute 12.

other side of the main line I I0. I V I 'BIa and SIb are shorted bywayof the conductors I24 and l25which lead to and from the conenergized,

cuit, the lines representing their conductorswilh' V have two or morereference characters; J a

In; the Figure 2,"the power line isindioated by the characters I it; Theprimary circuit has a conductor I II connected to the power lineand tothe stationary finger 'lfipxlt; hasa conductor. I

I i2 connected to the movable finger I6 and" to the Ji'elay ISif'and aconductor i i3-going'frorn the-re:

layiEiI to the main power line Y 5 53, Whenth'e rel ayfiiii isenergized, it closes the circuit which consists of a conductor I28 whichleads from the main lin'e' IiG to the motor 80, conductor the conductorI i5 from therelay switch Itiiato the mainline I it].

The circuit which is closed by the operation of the contact wheel 8|consists of a conductor IIB whichleads from the main line M0 to there-'volvingcontact drum 8! to the'contactmember 83a, through the metal rim82 tojthe contact mefmber 33b and by way of the conductorII'I .to therelay IOI and from there to the mainline by way of the conductor I 3.The closing of this circuit, by the actioncf' the contact wheelSI,shorts or retains the circuit or connection initially formed by thefingersl'ii and IE 'and the coin when there is no coin in the lowerportion of The time taken-for one complete frevoiutio-n' of the wheel SIconstitutes the time of play referred to herein as'a cycle or a timeperiod, and which, for the sake of simplicity, will 'be referred to andindicated herein as a ten minute period.

,The circuit closed by the wheel BBand the pair of contact members 90is'formed. by the conductor H8 which connects the power line III :aridtheiriction contact member 9011; the contact switch 93 heretoforereferred to, When the wheel 88 is in the position substantially as showni from the motor 80 to the relayswitch' flit-a and and the conductorI35; conductor I33.

I Before the startof the game, the projectiles V 22 are made immovablewith the'game 100K 26. The time indicators? is: atgthe zero point, andthe timing Wheels 8|, 85,an"d88 are in the posia this switch ,92,'bc ingclosed, the'solenoid I 05 is energized and the lock 25 isrelea-sedsothat a energized dra'ws the" finger-106a away from-the shoulder 26a of'the g'ame lockingdevice so that the 10ck 26 may be released- Thesolenoid I06 isfshown in the Figure 2 as being connected to theconductor I33 by means of thetwc wires I33c and I33b.-'In-the circuitjust described, the solenoid lllfiybeing connectedW-ith the relay I02and the timer mechanism'iiI in' series,'iunctionssimultaneouslytherewith;"j- I The timer mechanism electric 'clookheretofore referred'to is electrically connectedby the con ductor I34which leads from themain line I I0, the switch- 92' 'and the tion-sshown in the Figures 5, -6;;and '[7 -respectively." The wheels-jail and,31 are engaged as shown in the'F igHre-4.- The-switches IOIa andv I02u,are open-and the solenoids we; Item's, andIIlfi are dead.QAssoQn-a's-the coin 12 1s dropped-in the chute 'I4,'the relay switchlilla is closed." This putsthe motor in operation. The electric circuitcompleted by the-WheelBI keeps the switch IOIa in itsclo-sed positionand shortsthe coin handler, 10.; The'wheel '89 revolves at a fixed rateof speed and makes'one complete revolution f'oreach periodor cycle oflaying time, which in this case i ten minutes,

At the same instant that themotor starts run ning, the contact Wheelenergized thesolenoid 42 thereby loosening the brake 39 and startsoperating mechanism in the clock 3|. 'At a the same instant that thebrake 39 is loosened.

the'wheel 3? drives the wheel 34 sixtyde'grees which in turn causesthemeter indicator 32 to advance to the; point l0" on the dial. The clockbeing simultaneously energized; causes the meter hand 33 to move oounterclockwise at a' normal rate of speed. Also, at the same instant,

predetermined number of'projectiles 22 are re leased by a 'forward pushfor the players use. At the same time, the relay I02 is energized andthe switch 102 is closed thereby so that the I clock brake 39 isf-keptoffduring the entire playin the Figure '7 and when the indicator hand 33is. in the zero position.

The circuit formed by the wheel 85 and the contact members 81a and01bconsists oi the conductor I26 which connects the' main line II 0 'tothe friction contact member 811;, the conductor I21 which connects thefriction contactmemher 811) to the solenoid 42, and the conductor I28which connects the solenoid 42 to the main line ,IIO. The frictioncontact members 'B'Idand 811) r are shorted by means of the conductorsI29; I30,

and'the relay switch I02a when the relay 'Il02'is The relay I 02 1senergizedby the circuit, consisting of conductor. I3I which leads from"the main line H0 thereto and the'conductor I 32 which leads from therelay I02 to the switch 92 and through the switch 92 to the main line II0 by way of the conductor I 39. The conductor i3? also has therein thesolenoid I06, which when ing'period; v

Shortly after the aforesaid; initial. operation takesplace the contactwhee1i88 by way of the membersts and energizes, the two solenoids I03and" I04 simultaneously The solenoid I03 releases the-coin I2 sothat'itdrops down into v the chamber I8, the finger I iI first having-beenremoved by the solenoid I04. The gate 840 then being closed holds thecoin in' the chamber until released'by'the action of the solenoid I85. i

The contact wheel 88, by way of the members 89 and 9| opens thegate I40at a predetermined,

time so that thecoin 12 therein drops into the the core pin I06a tensionbyi'the spring I060 will lock 'the projectile release 'member 265 Whenthe'playing cycle or period comes toan end, thecorona.

coinbox below and makes room for the next When the solenoid I04 movesthe lever I42 on the pivot I45, the switch 92 is opened so thatindicator hand 33 causes the contact members 93 and 94 to close so thatthe solenoidl05 will open the gate'to permit the'last cointo dropout.

Ifadditional coins are placed in the machine so" that more than-one.period of play time is purchasedat the beginning of the game, then the'1 1: two coins are deposited the indicator hand as w move to 20""jonthedial; 'and'similaflyif three coins are deposited thehand will'move tothe point 30, before starting to move slowly i back to 0, The design ofthe coin handling mechanism and the collocating mechanism; is i t suchthat the-periods automatically follow each other successivelyfandconsecutively without 1 W a p p 2,325,693 ,7 fi er 11 in the coinhandling mechanism blocks the passage of the additional coins untilthesolenoid I03 is de-energizedby the breaking of t the contact at thepoints" and 90. of the wheel a 8 8. This construction permitsasgma'nyfasfjsix;

coins to be inserted in themachine at one time so that as many assixplaying cycles or one hour of playing time may be purchased. "Forexample,

remim:

R 1. In an amusement game device, acoin opere ated lock and playingperiod timer therefor," comprising incombination, a major electric cir 7r cuit having a coin operated switch-member theren in and including anelectric motor controlled by afrelay operated bylthe said member; and

a minorelectric circuits each having an electric i 20 3 While theinvention hfiSwbBCDdlSOlOSQdSOID-G? V f what schematically in itspreferred form; it is to be understood thatthe embodiment oi the"in'vjention asfdescribed and illustrated herein is not toibe consideredin'a limiting sense as there p are many other forms or modificationsoithei invention which ,are alsoi'considered to be within 1 Ithe scopeof the appended claims; Q J

uring "a playing period of the game.

switch therefor operatedby the saidmotonfthe first of thesaldminorcircuits'operating a means for rem'ovin'g a coin from the said coinopera'ted switch member, the second of the said minor cir I a 1 cuitsfshort circuitin'gthe aforesaid member in a f g manner whereby the saidrelay willcontinueto t i controlthe said electric motor after a .coin isremoved from1 the said member, andthe third of overlapping withoutnoticeable break and i V the said minor circuits opening the aforesaidlock withoutthe peri'ormance of any specialactfby theplayer; ,1 t

and 'simultaneousiyfoperating' ameter formeas ,2; A'device {thekinddeflned in claim further characterized by the coinoperated switchmember and the minor electric' circuits being connected in amanner-whereby the meter in one of the'minor circuits indicates theaggregate of the playing periods in correlation with the'num ber "ofcoins passing" through the said switch member during a playing period. ti

1, and

